Realme GT 8 Pro debuts with modular camera housing and Ricoh tuning

Realme unveiled its new GT 8 and GT 8 Pro smartphones in China this week, positioning the models as flagship contenders with upgraded cameras, large batteries and a partnership with Japanese camera maker Ricoh. The GT 8 Pro serves as the top-tier model, while the GT 8 offers many of the same core features at a lower price and with a simpler camera setup.

The GT 8 Pro is built around a 6.79-inch Quad HD AMOLED display that supports up to a 144 Hz refresh rate and Realme’s claimed peak local brightness of 7,000 nits. It is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset paired with up to 16 GB of LPDDR5X RAM and up to 1 TB of UFS 4.1 storage. Realme says the Pro includes a 7,000 mAh battery with 120 W wired charging and 50 W wireless charging, and the company markets a five-year update and security support promise for the device.

Camera hardware and design are the most distinctive elements of the GT 8 Pro. Realme introduced a mechanical, user-swappable rear camera island that can be detached and replaced with alternate covers in different shapes, and the company published 3D model files to encourage third-party customization. The Pro’s triple rear array, developed with...